


𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋. ༄ 𝐑.𝐓. + 𝐄.𝐊.

by comforrtcrowd



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:00:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comforrtcrowd/pseuds/comforrtcrowd
Summary: ❝𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐁𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.❞.・゜゜・❝𝐇𝐞'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰.❞(was originally Bite.)
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Stanley Uris
Kudos: 12





	1. 𝐈.

Milkshakes & Bike Rides  
Friday, June 7th, 1991.  
Richie Tozier, running down the hallway, his beat-up, untied sneakers hitting the ground quickly, he looked behind him, then at the blur of lockers. He stepped on his untied shoelace, regret filling his face. He hit the tile floor, the wind knocked out of him, panting heavily. Richie wipes his now bloodied nose with his arm, already hearing Eddie complaining about how unsanitary that is, or how he could get some very specific infection, talking a million miles a minute. He gives himself a weak smile and attempts to scramble to his feet.  
“Just quit running, you fucking fairy.” Richie sighed, knowing that angry voice all too well, hesitantly turning around to face none other than Henry fucking Bowers, the mullet-wearing jackass who probably didn’t even know how to tie his own shoes, but who was Richie to talk. He was just on the ground for an untied shoe. Richie gives a sweet smile.  
“Get fucked!” He says, smiling like a girl scout, flipping off Bowers. Richie starts running, his sneakers hitting the cold tile floor. He runs into the Cafeteria, rushing to the plastic, chipped lunch table.  
The lunch table contained “The Losers Club” as Henry Bowers addressed them. There was Richie Tozier, a self proclaimed ‘comedic genius’ with a loud mouth. “Trashmouth” to some. His best friend, Eddie Kaspbrak, is an asthmatic boy with a motormouth and a hatred for germs which he was kind of getting over. Then there was Stanley Uris, the jew, the ‘Flamer’. Stanley loved birds, he had books upon books all about them. Of course, Beverly Marsh, the ‘slut’. She never really did anything close to the rumors, she was a badass, the rest of the losers admired her for that. She had recently moved back to Derry from living with her aunt. Ben Hanscom, the ‘Fat Boy’. Ben loved Beverly. He was great with words. Ben has a soft personality, the dad friend of sorts. He was reasonable, much like Stan. There’s also Bill Denbrough. He is a writer. He was a careful boy, he watched his words unlike Richie, he didn’t stutter as much as he used to, he gained more confidence in himself. He had a large vocabulary and much like Ben, he had a way with words. Maybe not the best way, but a way.  
Mike Hanlon was just as much a part of The Losers Club as the others, although he was still homeschooled. Mike's grandfather was afraid of what would happen if he sent Mike to public school.  
“Hey-” Richie starts, pushing up his glasses and quickly getting cut off.  
“Why the fuck do you look like you just ran a fucking marathon?” Eddie snaps, a joking tone somewhere in his voice.  
“You see, Eddie, your mom told me she was home alone and I just-” Richie boasts, once again getting cut off. He earned a small laugh from Bev and Bill, that satisfied him enough. Stan added in.  
“Beep beep, Richie.” Stan groans, clearly unamused. Eddie joins Stan.  
“Yeah, beep beep Richie. And don’t call me Eds! I hate it when you do that!” Eddie whined angrily. Richie just shakes his head and laughs, Eddie looks at him more seriously this time, a tone of concern in his voice when he actually saw the blood near Richies nose.  
“Was it Bowers? Did he do it?” Eddie questioned, grabbing an alcohol prep pad from the first aid kit his mother had made him keep in his bag.  
“He chased me is all, I fell.” Richie said with a smile, running a hand through his unkempt hair, Eddie aggressively cleaning the now dried blood off of his face.

Richie and Eddie were close, everyone knew that. In every group of friends, there's the ones who are just closer than the rest. They slept at each other's houses almost every weekend, it's just how they were. All the losers knew it, they didn’t mind it much.  
“Ruh-Richie?” Bill asked, looking worriedly at Eddie who was now rushing to the bathroom to clean his hands.  
“Yeah, Billiam?” Richie asked while digging into Eddies little yellow lunchbox for the extra packet of gummies he always brought for Richie.  
“Duh-do you wanna go t-to uh.. The quarry wuh-with us on Sah-Saturday? We’ll buh-be there at suh-six ish. ” Bill asked almost mindlessly, looking to see if Eddie was coming back through the cafeteria doors. Richies smile slowly faltered as he looked at Bill and then the cafeteria doors. He almost felt jealous about how much he cared for Eddie, but Eddie wasn’t his. To add to that, Bill saw Eddie as a little brother. Eddie reminded Bill of Georgie in a way, he was giddy like Georgie.  
“Richie, Richard, Ri-” Beverly called, cut off by Richie flicking her.  
“What?” Richie asked, watching Eddie sit back down next to him.  
“You never answered Bill's question, Dipshit.” Stan said, unamused. Richie sighed  
“Sure.”

The air was brisk at night, gusts of wind flowing through the fabric of the boys clothes as they rode their bikes down to the diner. Maggie, Richie's mother, wasn’t necessarily a bad mother. She loved Richie very much, but she had wished for a baby girl which she could connect with and relate to. Richie and his mother started getting along well recently. She worked as a waitress at a restaurant in the next town over. She wasn’t home to cook dinner much anymore so Richie got to go to one of his favorite diners more often than not. He loved the diner, all of the losers did. They knew it was his favorite place to be, the old woman who ran it was motherly and loving to him. If Richie wasn’t at home or with the losers, he was there.  
much into it. His eyes looked warm, he could swear the boy had gold in his eyes.  
Eddie and Richie approached the old diner. The neon “Open” sign blinked at them slowly, like a peaceful cat, resting peacefully. He stepped into the diner, the warm air welcoming the two. Their shoes hit against the checkered floor, quickly sliding into a red leather booth.  
“And what would you like to get, m’lady?” Richie teased in a british accent, mainly just uncomfortable with the silence.  
“Haha, yeah, very funny dickwad! Fuck you.” Eddie snapped quickly, mumbling under his breath. Richie chuckled, finding it amusing when he’d get all worked up.  
“You’re like a chihuahua, Eds. Cute, cute, cute!” Richie beamed at Eddie. Eddie's eyes were like daggers which pierced right into his skull.  
“I am not cute!” Eddie complains. Before Richie could deny the feral kid, Miss Garcia had already arrived to take the boys order. She was a sweet woman in her mid fifties. Her skin was a warm brown tone, the smile wrinkles on her face told stories of family and hardships. Her eyes were a faded blue, like the gulf of Maine. They held so much emotion, and many untold stories. She smiled softly at the boys, pulling out her little notepad and special red pen.  
“So what’ll it be today, boys? The usual?” She asks. Her voice was warm but cheery like a hug and brought an immediate smile to Eddie's face.  
After twelve minutes of constant bickering, Miss Garcia had finally arrived with their food. “Here you go, two vanilla milkshakes, chicken tenders, a burger and two baskets of fries!” She exclaimed, smiling at the two as she placed down their orders. Eddie quickly took his chicken tenders before Richie could steal one, as Richie called it, “Long Chicken Nuggets”. Miss Garcia laughed at the interaction and continued on to behind the counter.  
This was how Richie liked it. He liked spending his friday nights with Eddie, doing anything that made them happy, whether it’s going to The Diner with the neon open sign, the quarry in the warmer weather, the arcade, you name it.  
He dozed off at Eddie as he continued to describe specifically why the five second rule shouldn’t exist. The soft glow of the dim yellow light that flickered above the two casted a light golden glow on Eddie's face. Richie smiled lazily at Eddie, studying each freckle on his face. They almost made patterns like constellations, or maybe he was just looking too much into it. His eyes looked warm, he could swear the boy had gold in his eyes.  
“Hey, you fucking idiot! Were you even listening?” Eddie piped, snapping Richie out of his gaze.  
“No, sorry Eds. Whenever I start thinking about your mom I just doze off. Last night, your mom was so fucking-” Richie laughed, finding himself funny.  
“Shut up, Richie!” Eddie tried to hold back a laugh but gave in, laughing at the stupid joke that he made. It wouldn’t have been funny if anyone else had made it, so why did it make Eddie laugh whenever Richie made those jokes?  
Richie paid for the bill. It was his week to pay and it wasn’t too much. Richie got on his bike after he made sure Eds was on his. The sky had dimmed down to a somber blue, casting a thin sleepy film over the town. They started fleeting down the streets, flickering and dimming street lights flashed over Riches glasses, temporary cloaks of dull gold covered the two as they passed each light. Richie stood while on his bike, he almost always was standing which Eddie would yell at him for. It was ‘dangerous’. He felt the wind weave itself through the fabric of his white t-shirt, his maroon button up shirt flying behind him, almost like a cape. Gravel crunched under the bike wheels as they approached Richie's house. The dull beige vinyl siding went well with the maroon vinyl exterior shutters. The pale beige and white bricks surrounded the doorway. Eddie always thought the outside of Richie's house was pretty. They parked their bikes against the side of the Tozier household, Richie putting his bike right in front of Eddie, making him stumble before tripping onto the grass. Richie laughed at him, looking at Eddie as he offered to help him up. Eddie looked at the slightly run down porch as Richie fumbled to get his keys.  
“Son of a bitch.. Eds, have you seen my keys?” Richie asked in a hushed tone. Eddie breaks his gaze from the porch and looks at Richie. For a small moment, the smaller boy looked at ease. The way Richie looked at Eddie made his stomach fill with little butterflies. There was a calm silence between the two. Richie stared at Eddie with pure admiration. Richie cleared his throat. He shoves his hand into his back pocket, digging around for his keys while Eddie waits impatiently.  
“Hurry up, dickwad! How do you even manage to lose your-”  
Richie pulls out the keys with a goofy smile, unlocking the door. They bickered quietly while walking in, Richie closing the door behind the two. He looked at the empty couch with a sigh. Richie's father, Wentworth, used to sit on the couch with Richie and watch cartoons, often impersonating the cartoon character. Wentworth had recently disappeared. They had a funeral and everything although there was an empty casket. It happened last summer, Richie wouldn’t talk about it, so none of the Losers would talk about it. Eddie was the only one who Richie would talk about it with. Richie had previously tried talking about it with Stan, but Stanley quickly made it about himself.  
Richie stalked to the kitchen, Eddie following close behind. Eddie plops himself down on the counter, letting his legs swing off of the counter as he does so.  
“You hungry, Eddie?” Richie asks, head in the fridge as he looks to see what they have.  
“We just ate literally less than an hour ago!” Eddie exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed.  
“And… I don’t see your point.”  
“My point is we just- can I have a water bottle please?” Eddie asks, his voice suddenly calm. Richie tosses him the water bottle.  
“Here ya go, Eds.”  
“Thanks, Chee. Anyways, we just ate. We don't need to eat again!” Eddie shrilled. Richie smiled to himself. ‘Chee’. That nickname always made Richie smile.  
“You’re such a cutie, Eds!” Richie teased, beaming at his friend once again.  
He forced it off of his face. Feeling this way towards a boy was wrong, he learned that when they used to go to church. They stopped going after Wentworth went missing.  
Eddie is his best friend and that's all. Eddie probably doesn’t even think of these things. If Eddie ever knew how Richie thought of him, he would be absolutely disgusted. He would never talk to him again. Richie nervously ran his hand through his hair and sighed slowly as Eddie went off about how unhealthy it is to eat loads of junk.


	2. 𝐈𝐈.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize, this ones kinda short

**Vhs Tapes & Butterscotch Pudding**

Friday, June 7th, 1991.

So the boys compromised and went with popcorn and sandwiches. Before they could head upstairs, Maggie had come home. She seemed exhausted, a loud sigh coming out of her mouth before a greeting. She walked into the kitchen where Richie and Eddie were. 

“Hello, boys!” She said with a sleepy smile, she gave Richie a hug and ruffled Eddie's hair. Eddie laughed and swatted her hand away jokingly. 

“Hi, Maggie!” Eddie said with an excited tone, hugging Maggie. He liked it when she was home, she was nicer than his mother was. 

“Hey, Mom. How was work?” Richie asked, getting himself a glass of water. 

“Good, good.. It was busy today, I had to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ four times today.” She laughed softly. Eddie smiled. He could hear the similarities in her laugh and Richies. 

“Well, don’t let me hold you guys back. You boys go hang out. I’ll be down here or in my room if you need me, alright? And Richie, I’ll be taking the breakfast shift tomorrow. Joanne wants to talk with me so I won’t be home until later, hopefully not this late again. Eddie, you can stay for as long as you need.” Maggie sighed, giving the boys a weak smile. 

With their beloved food, the boys began to head upstairs to Riches room. Eddie always complained about how messy the room was, but it seemed to be clean, cleaner than Eddies ever seen it. Richie placed himself next to Eddie and huffed.

“What’re we watchin’ tonight, Eddie Spaghetti?” Richie asked with a humorous tone. 

“Don’t call me that! I hate it when you call me that!” Eddie whined angrily. Amused, Richie ruffled his hair, making Eddie more aggravated. Before Richie could get hit, he got up and walked over to the vhs tapes which sat on the lightly dusted shelves in the little hardwood table which the bulky TV had been placed on. Richie sat cross-legged at the tapes, looking back at Eddie with a content expression on his face. 

“What do you wanna watch?” He asked, looking back at his tapes. Eddie, who was struggling with a blanket, shrugged before realizing that Richie couldn’t see him. He sighed and took a bite of his sandwich, satisfied with how the blanket was, finally. 

“I’ve got The Goonies, The NeverEnding Story..” Richie snickered, looking back at Eddie.

“Princess Bride. Sounds like your kinda movie, Eds.” He laughed and Eddie glared, unamused.

“Shut the fuck up.” Eddie said, clearly not impressed with Richies shit jokes. Richie smiled at him weakly, the smile quickly faltered as he sighed. He looked back at the tapes. 

“Little Monsters! Eds, remember when we’d watch this movie every time you were over? This was our favorite! We’ve gotta watch it!” Richie's eyes lit up as he spoke, facing Eddie. Eddie smiled at him, happy to see him get so excited over something that involved himself. It was cute.

“Yeah, we’re watching that one. Hurry up and put the tape in, I need someone to share the popcorn with or it’ll get all sad and soggy.” Eddie said, watching as Richie delicately placed the tape in the vhs player, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile. 

“Sad and soggy like your mom.” Richie said with a brighter smile, lightly laughing.

“Gross. That is so not funny.” Eddie grunted, smiling lightly. He couldn’t help it, Richie always managed to make Eddie smile, and God, did Eddie hate him for it. Richie eventually joined him, waiting till the vhs tape was playing. The popcorn bowl was between them, sandwiches on paper plates on their laps. Eddies was already half eaten, Richie started taking a careless bite of his sandwich as soon as he sat down. 

Eddie was exhausted after eating his sandwich. He started falling asleep, tightly clutching his blanket and leaning slightly on Richie. Richie smiled down at him, finding him adorable and hating it. He wasn’t gay, he had hoped he wasn’t, but all he wanted was to hold Eddie. He slowly started falling asleep, Eddie cuddled up next to Richie, asleep. His eyes went wide when he realized this. This was normal, Richie knew that, they always did this. So why did he react like this? 

“Fuck.”

To say the least, Richie didn’t sleep much last night. He would be on the edge of sleep when Eddie would curl into him, mumbling something he could never distinguish. This wasn’t good for Richie, he could feel Eddie in ways you shouldn’t be able to feel your best friend, never mind the fact that he was a boy.

Eddie, on the other hand, slept great. He was warm in Richies comfort, Eddie thought it was odd how he felt so at home wherever he was with Richie, more than he ever had at his own house with his mother.

Saturday, June 8th, 1991.

Eddie usually wakes up earlier than Richie, so why was Richie awake? He sighed to himself silently and carefully sat up, not actually realizing how  _ close _ he was. One leg was under Richie, the other was over Richie’s legs. Eddie's head was under his chin. Eddie could feel how close he was and he hated how he liked it. He could smell Richie, who smelled of cologne and cigarettes. 

“Hey, Eddie Spaghetti.” he whispered. Eddie rolled his eyes, a small smile planted on his face.

“Your breath sinks.” He retorted, already grumpy. He sat up, Richie frowned momentarily, liking how close they were. Maybe it was for the best.

“So would you prefer Eds, or-“ Eddie cut him off, trying to present himself as annoyed.

“No, just Eddie.” He deadpanned, Richie laughed at this, of course.

“Alrighty, Eds. What’re we having for breakfast?” He asked, completely ignoring Eddie's request, now standing up and walking towards his drawers, probably looking for a decently clean shirt and some shorts. Eddie decided to get up after him, digging in his bag and finding a folded pair of shorts. He pulls out a dark cyan Polo shirt, going with it. He sighed.

“Sorry, Rich. What were you saying?” Eddie asked apologetically, he hadn’t been listening to a word Richie was saying. Nor did he realize that he was changing in front of Eddie. He looks at him, looking down to the floor where he threw his dirty shirt carelessly.

“Oh, was I distracting you, Eds?” Richie asks suggestively, pulling a hopefully clean gray branded t-shirt over his head and earning a glare from Eddie as he pulled out his toothbrush. Richie beamed at him.

“No, dipface. I’m gonna go change.” Eddie says while walking out of Richies room and into his bathroom. It was oddly clean, actually. It was never this clean. Eddie shrugged it off and changed out of his previous clothing, putting the Polo shirt and shorts on carefully but quickly. He looked at himself in the mirror above the sink, flattening, or at least trying to flatten, his hair. He sighed, grabbing his toothbrush and brushing his teeth, carefully trying to make sure he brushed each tooth thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Richie was trying to decide which shirt looked better, messily combing his hands through his hair. He eventually went with his second option. Richie pulled a different white t-shirt over his head, his glasses coming down with it. He blindly felt around the ground for his glasses, shoving them back on his face and recklessly throwing on a cherry blossom button-up tee. Unbuttoned, of course.

He proceeded down to the kitchen, hearing the sink water trickle from the drain when passing the bathroom. He could practically see Eddie scrubbing his teeth like his life depended on it. He smiled to himself and walked down the stairs. 

Richie raided his fridge, disappointed when all he could find for a snack was a butterscotch pudding cup. Richie didn’t like butterscotch pudding, but it was Eddie's favorite. Whenever his mother would go shopping, she would grab Eddie's pudding cups. Richie would get the chocolate pudding cups. Even though it was something so small, it made Richie smile. 

Eddie could be heard walking down the stairs. He made his way to the kitchen where he knew Richie would be. 

“Hiya, Eds. Pudding cup?” Richie asked with a goofy grin, tossing Eddie a pudding cup. Eddie barely catches it.

“Richie, it’s nine in the morning. Where the fuck do you get these shirts from? Are those cherry blossoms? We need to have- is this butterscotch?” He smiled down at the pudding cup and back at Richie. It made him feel warm that Richie knew what he liked. Richie winked and pointed finger guns at Eddie. 

“You know it, Spaghetti!” Richie boasted proudly, as if he’d just saved a damsel in distress, clutching his hand to his heart.

“After breakfast. What cereal do you have?” Eddie asked, tossing the pudding back to Richie and reaching up on the tips of his feet to reach the cabinet which contained the cereal. The boy grabbed his favorite cereal, Cookie Crisp, holding it in his arms happily. Richie chuckled at him and grabbed his cereal too. 

Once they sat at the table, Eddie started devouring his cereal, clearly hungry. Richie laughed at how quickly he was eating. 

“Richie..?” Eddie asked slowly. He felt small. Richie looked at him, now concerned.

“Yeah, Eds?” 

“This is stupid.. Is it really that bad to be gay? My mom always says that uh, that they’re so bad. What if one of the losers were gay? I can’t just say ‘No’ to them!” Eddie quickly spills out all that he had been thinking about since he woke up with his fucking crotch pressed against Richies thigh. ‘ _ You aren’t supposed to touch your best friend like that, Eddie!’  _ Is really all that he was thinking to himself other than if it was even that wrong. Richie was clearly uncomfortable and cleared his throat.

“I don’t actually know. Why? You gay, Eds?” Richie asked jokingly. An uncomfortable silence came over the two, tension hung in the air, leaving a bitter taste in Eddie's mouth as he got up. 

“I’m going to go brush my teeth again. Thanks for breakfast, Rich.” Eddie said quietly. 

“Alright, Eds!”

“Don’t call me Eds.” Eddie deadpanned in a hushed tone. Richie took off his glasses once Eddie had headed upstairs. He covered his face with his hands and sighed. 


	3. 𝐈𝐈𝐈.

Needles & Paul Bunyan

Saturday, June 8th, 1991. 

Summers were Richie’s favorite. Every summer, for the last three weeks or so, Richie and Eddie would go to his aunt, Lilith, and visit her at her beach house. Lilith would greet the boys with warm hugs. She was nothing like Sonia Kaspbrak, Eddie's mother. She was a very overbearing woman with a strong, large build. Her hands weren’t warm like Richies aunts or any of the losers, they were cold, like she was just a corpse, or clay after it had been forgotten for a long time. Her voice felt like metal, needles full of medicine, chilling to the touch. She wasn’t a loving woman, not exactly. She loved her son, Eddie. She didn’t express it correctly, she made sure to give him every pill she legally could, in her eyes, they kept him safe. She was slightly deranged, that woman. Richie called it “Stockholm syndrome”. Eddie was hopeless in her grasp and since, well, the incident, Eddie has distanced himself from his mother. Richie is proud of him for it, too. Eddie still takes the pills, he feels like he has to. She doesn’t let him out as much as a boy his age should be out, but she lets him go in the summer. What connection does Sonia even have to Lilith? Maybe they knew each other in high school?  
Eddie was snapped out of his train of thought by Richies loud yelp. He looked up quickly, Richie had been playing Street Fighter with some kid, he clearly won. He popped in another coin and they went for another round. Eddie let his soft eyes wander around the arcade. The floors were black with those little confetti patterns that Richie wanted on a shirt for some reason. The walls were mainly covered by the countless arcade games such as Tetris or Pac-Man, and probably twelve pinball machines. Eddie liked pinball. There were some rows of skeeball dug somewhere near the back. It was a large arcade. The lights were similar to a blacklight, making the carpet look like it was glowing. Eddie hated how the air was stuffy but he liked the intoxicating smell of strong cotton candy that infiltrated the place. Eddie focused back on the kid. Honey gold curls hung off of his scalp recklessly but elegantly, equipped with a brown and black striped shirt, blue jeans, and a blue jacket which only went to his elbows.   
That’s stupid Eddie thought to himself silently, fiddling with the cyan Polo shirt he was wearing. Then he looked at the way Richie was looking at him and it hurt. Richie looked him up and down. He has squirrel teeth, Richie, how come I can’t play with you instead? Eddie thought, shaking his head. He looked sadly at the two as Richie looked him up and down. Something sparked inside of Eddie. He decided it was time to go, so he left unnoticed. He started on his way home, stopping by the pharmacy, he needed a new inhaler. He looked down at his small black shorts, they kind of clung to his legs when the wind would hit which was odd to him. He tried not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk, knowing it wasn’t true, he wouldn’t break his mother's back, but he skipped each crack in the sidewalk anyways. He looked up at the pharmacy sign once he got there, walking in. He walked up to the pharmacy counter, hesitant once he saw Greta, the bitch who wrote ‘loser’ on his cast. Yeah, it was almost three years ago, and yeah, Eddie still hated her for it. Richie thought it was adorable that Eddie wrote a v over the s in red. He didn’t let him live it down until just last year. Sometimes he wished Richie wasn’t joking.  
“Came here for your stinky breath pills?” She asked, chomping on her gum like a cow.   
“My- My breath is- is fine? Thank you..” he replied, concerned and confused. She put down the magazine she had been reading. Wow, you can read? He asked sarcastically in his head while looking at her, she walked towards him.   
“Not what my dad says.” She snipped back, resting her hands on the counter with a somewhat satisfied sigh.   
“He said,” She grabbed the small white paper bag which had his inhaler in it.   
“That you have a tumor..” She placed down the paper bag. Eddie looked at it and back at her.  
“On your dick.” She chewed on her gum again, looking him dead in the eyes. He giggled.  
“You don't take pills for-“ His gleeful expression faded, he looked at her, a confused expression on his face.   
“Wait.. What did your dad say?” He asked, concern laced in his words. She clomped on her gum. Cow. She looked at him.  
“There you go.” She said with a blank expression, chewing on that fucking gum.   
“Hope your dick feels better.” She said, walking behind a shelf of pills. He walked away too, his mother always tells him to use manners and it was nagging at him.   
“Thank you, for the inhaler not the penis.. thing..” He trailed off, walking away awkwardly. He just wanted to go to sleep.   
“Eddie…” He heard his mom yell, his name trailing off. It sounded distant. He stopped dead in his tracks, paper bag rustling against his leg at the instant stop. He hesitantly started walking again.  
“Eddie-Bear!” He looked behind him, holding his bag tighter.   
“Mommy?” he called back, fear mixing with his features, he looked at the now open door leading to some room. A green and white “Vaccines” sign lit dimly. He didn’t realize he had been walking towards it.   
“Eddie-Bear..!” He should’ve just stayed with Richie. He bumped into a crate and screamed, starting breathing heavily, scared. God, he hated being afraid.   
“Mommy?” He asked, his voice slightly trembling. He saw stairs and started walking down, barely three steps into the basement and he gagged, quickly grabbing his inhaler from that stupid paper bag. He took a breath from his inhaler and continued hesitantly down the stairs.   
“Eddie?...” He quickly raced to the bottom of the stairs, following the direction of his mother's voice.   
“Mommy?” He called back, looking down the new hallway.   
“Eddie.. Eddie help me!” Sonia yelled as he went around the corner, looking down the new hallway. He could see the silhouette of his mother through the curtains, like the ones they had at the hospital. He called back to her again, walking slowly down the hall. He didn’t realize how the lights flickered. He looked at the needles as he passed them. Cold. Probably infected and covered in dust and germs and-  
“Eddie-Bear..” Something muffled. He couldn’t hear the rest of it well. He heard something crunch and looked at his shoes. Shattered glass had been spread which made him jump and yelp. He bumped into some equipment and made it fall over along with the medical bags on the shelves next to it. He screamed, repeatedly screaming at all of the equipment flailing around the hallway.   
“Eddie?” Sonia called, he started walking towards her again.  
“What is she doing here?” He whispered to himself, eyebrows knit together as he walked towards her.  
“What is taking you so long?” She asked angrily.  
“What are you doing here?” He asked, sounding on the verge of tears, his voice trembling. He slowly lifted his hands, quickly pulling the curtains back to reveal Sonia strapped to a chair, Eddie's eyes widened.  
“Mommy!” He yelled, running to her immediately.   
“He’s coming, you’ve gotta get me out of here!” She yelled to her son, almost demanding as he pulled on the large, five inch wide leather strap which had been holding her down.   
“Who’s coming?” He asked frantically, tugging aggressively.   
“Eddie!” The two heard a noise, a disgruntled groan of some sort.   
“The fuck is that..?” He asked breathlessly, a chain clanked loudly and he yelped shakily. They looked into the dark. Eddie hated scary things, especially when he couldn’t fucking SEE them. He was petrified. He clung to his mother.  
“Mommy..!” He yelped.  
“You gotta get me out of here, Eddie, it's gonna kill me!” She yelled at him, panicked as the thing covered in a white cloth and stuck to a chain came closer. The cold metal chains went over the pipe it was attached to as Eddie struggled to help his mother. She screamed at him, her voice cold like the metal chains. He felt like his lungs were going to close. It came a step closer. He was screaming and screaming, trying to get his mother out, It was coming too close for comfort. The chain on whatever It was under the blanket finally snapped. It was the leper-like creature he saw in front of the Neibolt house almost three years ago. He screamed as it got stuck on thick black wires.   
“I can't do it! I’m sorry, I can’t do it!” He yelled to Sonia, backing away from the leather strap.   
“I KNEW YOU WOULD LEAVE ME, EDDIE!” Sonia screamed at him violently, Eddie yelled. He backed away, screaming. The leper broke free, jumping on to Sonia and twisting its inhumane mucus covered tongue down her throat. Eddie couldn’t stop screaming, turning around immediately and running down the hallway. 

Richie was still at the arcade, he noticed that Eddie left, but he was busy trying to beat his new friend, Connor, to even look. He was pretty good, but no ones better than good ol’ Trashmouth.  
“You’re fuckin good.” The boy with the curly golden hair breathed out. His hair seems soft.. Fuck, Richie… Richie thought to himself. The two high fived, Richies hand lingered there for a split second, He couldn’t tell if Connors' smile faltered a bit or got bigger. There was a moment of silence where Richie just looked at Connor. He looked at the carpet then the game screen.   
“Oh.. Well.. I gotta go.” Connor said, turning to the back of the arcade.  
“Hey!” Richie called to him. He turned around slowly.   
“Um..” Richie slowly and painfully awkwardly picks up a coin from the edge of the arcade screen. He lifts it up and looks at Connor for a moment, an awkward silence causing an odd tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.   
“How ‘bout we go again?” He asked meekly.   
“Play some more, you know?” He asked, quieter this time. Bowers and his gang of psychotic asshats came in through the back. It’s tragic how Richie didn’t have time to notice before talking.  
“Only if you want to..” Richie adds. Connor looks back and notices Bowers.   
“Dude, why’re you being weird? I’m not your fucking boyfriend!” Connor spits, venom laced in each letter, nipping at his skin like little snakes. Richie could feel himself get hot in the face.   
“Woah- I.. I didn’t-” Richie stammered.  
“The fucks goin’ on here?” Henry asked, his head tilted to the right as he slowly walked closer.  
“You assholes didn’t tell me your town was full of little fairies!” Connor says, his words were so full of hate and Richie hated it, he wasn’t gay, he wasn’t. This is why he couldn’t be and this is why he couldn’t tell Eddie that all he wanted to do was hug him and tell him how pretty he was. He was going to be seventeen within the next year, and he couldn’t even admit that fuck, yes, Richie Trashmouth Tozier was in love with his best friend.  
“Richie fucking Tozier?” He said, taking more of a protective stance near Connor, his veins popping out of his head like a maniac.  
“You tryna bone my little cousin?” Of course he is your fucking cousin, how convenient. Henry asked angrily, his tone was too calm but it had tones of anger. His head cocks forwards, Richie for once was silent, no witty comeback or mom joke.   
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, FAGGOT!” Henry suddenly boomed as Henry practically leaped forwards. Richie was shocked. His mouth was agape as he looked around him. Everyone was staring.   
“FUCKING MOVE.” Henry yelled at him, again. Richie starts walking out, quickly opening the door before running. He ran to the town park and sat on the bench. He let out a hard sigh, one he had been holding in. He rubbed his eyes, hard. He let out a whine, feeling himself about to cry.   
“FOCUS, RICHIE” A deep gravelly voice said, causing Richie to look up immediately, breathing heavily. What the fuck?! He put on his glasses, and the large Paul Bunyan statue was gone. Rich hears a loud bang next to him and turns to see the statue screaming at him, jaw unhinged. He screams, tumbling off of the bench which the statue broke with its pickaxe. He started running rapidly, holding both sides of his glasses to push them up. The statue made ripples in the soft green grass with its picaxe. It almost hit him, he came tumbling to the ground.   
“It's not real, It's not real, IT'S NOT REAL, IT'S NOT REAL, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real, it's not real..” Richie repeated as it came closer. It was gone. His arms were up defensively. He quickly flailed his hands for his glasses which flung off when he fell. He puts them on to see the statue is back on its pedestal.  
“I think I just shit my pants” he breathes out. He lay down, exhausted, he closed his eyes. He didn’t know how long he had been lying there, but soon he heard the pitter patter of someone's shoes hitting the sidewalk quickly. He heard the sound of an inhaler and immediately knew who it was  
“Holy shit!” Eddie yelled. Richie quickly sat up, leaning on his palms which rested on the grass behind him, looking in the smaller boy's general direction.  
“Oh, Hey, Eds!” He says casually, he was nervous though. What if Eddie found out his secret? His dirty little secret? Would he react like Henry did? Would he kiss him and do all the things Richie has always wanted? No, of course not? Life’s not a fucking gay musical, Richie. Richie blinked tightly and looked back at Eddie.  
“What the fuck are you doing, you fucking idiot?!” Eddie asked, clearly worried.   
“Yknow, just layin’ around.” Richie replies cooly with a smug smile resting gently on his face. Eddie sighs, sitting next to Richie, knees to his chest. Richie looked at the smaller boy, looking at his hair as the sun hit it, making it almost a golden brown. His hair looked soft, Richie wanted to run his hands through it.   
“Chee, i’ve got a bad feeling. I feel like It- It’s back already, Chee.” Eddie says nervously, his mouth was running a hundred miles per minute. Richie sat up quickly, tucking his knees to his chest quickly rather than laying back. He looked at him delicately. Eddie was strong, he was feral and snappy, he seemed so fragile and it made Richie feel uneasy. It made him angry, too. He wanted to beat the shit out of this clown for scaring Eddie so bad. He doesn’t deserve it.  
“Hey, it's okay. Eds- Eddie.. I saw It too.” Richie said to the boy next to him. Eddie was trembling, carefully, he looked at Richie.   
“What's happening, Richie?” The smaller boy asks, he looked up to Richie, like Richie was guiding him, as if he was much wiser. Truth was, Richie was fucking terrified. He thought they killed it, two years ago, they killed it, didn’t they? So, what the fuck was happening? Why?  
“I- I dunno, Eds. I saw something too. I was in the arcade, absolutely winning against Connor,” Eddies eyes dimmed at the name. Thats a stupid name. He sighed.  
“And well.. He had to go, so I asked to play another game.” Richie looked back down at Eddie, who now had his head on his knees and was aggressively picking at grass. He sighed, watching Eddies dainty fingers lace through the soft grass. He wondered what his hands would feel like when connected to his own. He shook his head. This is exactly what got me in trouble. Shut up, Richie. That’s gay, don’t be such a fuckin’ faggot. Richie thought to himself bitterly, Eddie deserved better.  
“He looked back and I guess he saw um, he saw Bowers. He told me to stop being weird, and I wasn't his- his um.. Boyfriend.” Richies expression went blank and Eddie stiffened. The grass ripped.  
“Well, are you?” Eddie asked, but his voice sounded distant. It was quick and sharp. Richie was taken aback by the question.  
“What the hell, Eds? No! I’m not- I’m not gay, Eddie.” He said, a bitter tone was loosely evident in his voice. Eddie winced by the harshness in Richies voice. He wasn’t ever really harsh with Eddie. Richie's eyes softened at the boy next to him. He wished it was okay. He wished it was okay to grab Eddie's hand and hold it tightly in his own. Richie reached out to Eddie. No, Richie. He brought his hand back in and looked at Eddie.  
“I’m sorry, Eds… I didn’t mean it like that.. I- um. Bowers was asking Connor what was going on and he called me a fairy. Connor.” Richie said softly in a pained tone. Eddie put his hand on Richies arm comfortingly. Richie could feel his heart skip a beat as he looked back at Eddie, eyes widened and a smile evident. He looked back at the grass and sighed.   
“Bowers said I was trying to bone Connor. His little cousin.” Eddie let out a gasp, accidentally of course. Richie looked at him with a smile on his face. He continued.  
“He called me a faggot. But it was angry, really fuckin’ angry, Eds. So I left. I came here.” Eddie looked at Richie, he opened his mouth but before Eddie could speak, Richie cut in again.  
“No, Bowers didn’t chase me. It’s cute that you’re sooo worried about me, Eddie Spaghetti. Cute, cute, cute!” Richie said, pinching Eddie's cheek.   
“I’m not- Shut up, Richie!” Eddie said quickly, resting his head on his legs again. Richie laughed and ruffled Eddie's hair which caused Eddie to slap his hand. Richie cleared his throat.   
“When uh, when I got to the park, the fucking creepy statue there, Paul Onion or some shit, It was just fuckin gone. It was next to me and screaming and-”  
“It’s Paul Bunyan”  
“What?”  
“You called him Paul Onion. It's Paul Bunyan.”  
The two were silent for a moment before they burst into a fit of laughter.   
“Where the FUCK did you get Paul Onion from?” Eddie asks between laughs, taking a breath from his inhaler afterwards.   
“Your mom.” Richie finally got out once his laughter started to die down.   
“Can you stay tonight again, please?” Richie asked quietly, humor leaving no trace in his voice. Eddie nodded and stood up, Richie following him and standing up as well, brushing himself off quickly. Eddie made sure he got the dirt off of himself before starting to walk.   
“I’m sorry I left. I shouldn’t have.” Eddie said finally.  
“Why did you leave, Eddie?”  
“You seemed to be having so much fun with Connor. I felt dumb for being there so I left.. I went to the pharmacy first. That’s where I saw It, Rich. The fucking leper that was outside of the Neilbolt house!” Eddie grabbed his inhaler. He inhaled the medicine, or as Richie called it, Battery Acid.   
“Hey, hey, you don't have to tell me.” Richie said in a comforting voice.   
“Let me do this, Richie.. I was grabbing my inhaler and I heard my mom calling me from behind me and it was from that door, the metal one that's always closed, it was open and so I went in because I heard her, Richie. It sounded just like her. It was disgusting in there, Chee.. There were so many germs down there and everything was covered in dust-” Eddie took a puff from his inhaler, continuing as the two continued to walk towards Richie's house.   
“And- and I kept walking to her. She was behind these old curtains, they were disgusting. And she was strapped in, why? Why did it make her strapped in? The leper was under a cloth and it kept coming closer and I couldn’t get her out and-” His shaky hands grabbed his inhaler from his fanny pack, inhaling the medicine and holding onto it for emotional support. Richie hesitantly grabbed Eddie's hand, softly. It was soft like Richie imagined. Warm, too. Eddie let out a breath, he squeezed Richies hand and continued carefully.  
“I couldn’t get her out.. She said she knew I'd always leave her. I don’t know what she meant but I ran.” Eddie said, he still talked quickly, that motormouth, but it was slower than before. Less panicked than it had been before. He looked up at Richie who stopped and let go of his hand. He didn’t realize that they were at Richie's house already. Richie walked up to the door, Eddie close behind him.   
“I’m always here for you, Eds.”


	4. 𝐕.

𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 & 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬.

-

feel free to comment.

-

It was an hour before sunset, the air was warm and humid, but not unbearable. Eddie was riding his bike down the middle of the road, Richie trailing behind, yelling to Eddie.

"You sure we're even going to the quarry, Eddie? Because I'm pretty sure this is totally the wrong way, Eddie Spaghetti. See, this is why you should let me lead the way, if you weren't so cute, I'd be real mad right now!" Richie called, biking faster and passing Eddie, who had now been yelling at Richie.

"No fair! You always lead, Richie! You're going the exact way I was going!" Eddie called out, pedaling faster than before.

At the quarry, Stan, Mike, and Bill were already there waiting. Stan was looking at the sky as clouds passed by slowly. He was laughing loudly at a joke Mike had told.

"Hey, Fuckwads!" Richie yelled as he threw his bike down, following Eddie who was already running towards the top of the quarry.

"Hi, guys!" Eddie yelled, excitement looped in his voice like little bows.

"Hey, Eddie! Richie!" Mike called back, equally matching the enthusiasm they had. He had a warm voice, Eddie liked it when Mike would tell stories because he liked his voice. Stan and Bill chimed in, talking mainly to Richie who was already bragging about his newest comic.

"Yeah, that's right, fuckers! Cloak and Dagger, Volume Three, Number Eighteen!" Richie boasted, earning an eye roll from stan and a gasp from Eddie.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me when we were at your house?" Eddie asked, crowding around Richie as he got out the comic. Stan watched them, unamused. Bill and Mike peered over at them, Mike was coming closer to see the comic, too.

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, Eddie, my love!" Richie jokes, always joking. Eddie sighed.

"Whaddya always gotta tease me for, Chee?" he asked, a sullen expression on his face. Richie fluffed his hair and Mike laughed.

"You love it, Eddie!" Richie said, smiling wide.

"Hey, Eddie?" Stan called, finally speaking up. Eddie's head popped up like a weasel as he quickly turned to see who was calling him. Stan motioned for him to come. Stan sat on the edge of the cliff. Eddie looked hesitant at Richie's comic book but followed Stan's actions.

"What's up, Stan?" Eddie asked curiously, swinging his legs off of the cliff. Stan smiled at him, finding his actions adorable.

"I got you something, because.. I'm actually not too sure why I got it but I think you'll really like it." Stan said hesitantly. He looked at Eddie who looked at him with unsure eyes. His confidence gained as Eddie beamed at him. Stan got up and went to his bag, grabbing something Eddie couldn't quite see. Stan sat back down next to Eddie.

"It's a paddle ball. I know you-" Stan was cut off by a hug. Stan hugged Eddie back tightly, a wide smile on his face. Stan wanted to stay like this.

"Stan! Thank you so much, I really love it, I remember in the clubhouse I was playing with one that was in there, I think it was Bens, but you totally broke it" Eddie said with a laugh, lightly taking the paddle ball from his hands. He scooted himself back, away from the edge of the cliff. Stan watched him with adoring eyes as Eddie let his excitement take over.

"I did not break it, you were paddle ball-ing in my face!" Stan said defensively, but a smile still found its way onto his face.

"The magic of the paddle ball!" Eddie exclaimed, drawing out the "all". Stan sat facing Eddie, cross-legged and leaning on his hands. He held his head back and laughed, looking at the sky. Eddie beamed at him and laughed along. Eddie looked at Stanley who he believed looked particularly gorgeous in the sunlight. A content smile appeared on Eddie's face as he looked at Stan. His honey-colored curls gleamed in the bright sun, almost like they were coated in pixie dust. Richie came barreling along and playfully smacked Stan on the side of his head, telling him to shut up. Stan smiled weakly, his shoulders slumped weakly as he stopped laughing. Eddie nudged him with his foot, ignoring Richie.

"Stan Urine! What're ya up to with good ol' Eds here?" Richie yelled, flopping down beside Eddie and hooking his arm around him to pinch Eddie's cheeks.

"Cute, cute-"

"Fuck OFF, Richie!" Eddie said, annoyed. He put the paddle ball in his fanny pack, standing up and brushing himself up. He held out his hand to Stan who gladly took it.

"Cute." Richie said, messing with a seam on his pants before just jumping up. He felt bad, but didn't feel like apologizing. Richie took off his button up, then pulled off his shirt. He threw his shorts to the side and ran to the cliff, jumping off and into the water. The losers were shocked to say the least and looked in his general direction before copying his actions, jumping into the water one by one.

"Has anyone suh-seen Buh-Buh-"

"Beverly? Nah. Haven't seen Benny Boy, Either." Richie said suspiciously, cutting Bill off. The boys joked about their whereabouts, wondering what was true. Somehow, someone decided it was time to play Chicken. Eddie got on Stan's shoulders. Bill was on Mike's shoulders, palms pressed against Eddies. Richie was the referee, yelling in his 'news reporter' voice.

"Oh! And Eddie Spaghetti almost pushes Billiam to the floor!"

"Richie, we're in water." Stan remarked, laughing and trying to hold up Eddie.

"Ah! Big Bill is in the lead! There he goes! Going! Going! WHAT THE FUCK-"

All of the losers were splashed out of the blue, causing Eddie to shriek and fall out of Stans grip, Bill going down almost as fast. Beverly had shown up apparently, and she had jumped from the cliff into the quarry. She came back above water with a beaming smile.

"Hey, guys. Bens here, too. Can't believe we're the only-" Bev was cut off by a loud splash. Ben swam above water and looked at the losers with a warm smile.

"Hey, Benny Boy. Where've you two scoundrels been, huh?" Richie asks, nudging Bill who responded with a 'Shut up, Richie'. Ben was quiet meanwhile Beverly was quick to respond.

"Well, since it's my first time back at the quarry since I came back, Ben and I decided to get snacks. Too bad we were so late, though." She swam back underwater and the conversation faded.

The sunlight soon faded to a golden gleam. Stan and Eddie left the water first, Eddie was interested in Stanleys bird book. Stan had a little journal where he'd put his Polaroid photos which he took of birds he saw. Under these photos were usually short descriptions of the birds and where they were. Eddie adored the journal, finding it so cool that he could get so close to the little creatures. The others soon came along behind the two.

"So what've you been up to, Rich?" Beverly asked with a smile. The losers sat in a circle now, fully clothed as warm wind looped and laced itself through the fabric of their clothing. The radio was playing in the background, just loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to overlap their conversations. Richie looked up as if he were having a flashback.

"Y'know, fuckin' Eds mom, the usual." Richie said cooly, pushing his glasses up as they slipped down the bridge of his nose when he looked over to Eddie. Eddie rolled his eyes and hit Richies arm.

"No you didn't! Fuck you." Eddie said quickly, Mike laughed at him.

"If Eddie were an animal, I think he'd be an angry fluffy cat, Y'know, like the ones who knock over glasses." Mike said, his laughter dying out.

"I think Eddie would be a hummingbird." Stan said with a smile.

"He is quick and clever." Ben added, nodding as if it was a scientific discovery.

"What? No, Eddie's definitely a chihuahua! He's fucking adorable but he's snippy and will not hesitate to kill you!" Richie said, moving his hands rapidly as he spoke.

"Why just me? What about Mike or something?" Eddie asked, almost offended that he was the only one seen as some kind of animal. Mike laughed heartily and Bill spoke up.

"Muh-Mike is.. Mike's a bear!" Bill exclaimed with a wide smile. Bev nodded, Stan started to speak but found himself stumped and nodded along with the others.

"He's someone who doesn't stay down, Mikes emotionally strong, and physically." Eddie said lightly, looking at Ben for confirmation.

"Yeah, I agree with that one, Eddie." Ben said, smiling at Mike who smiled at his friends.

"Well, What about me, you dickwads?" Richie asked, laughing and scooting closer to the group.

"Hyena. Annoying and ugly." Stanley deadpanned. The others laughed which made Stan laugh.

"Har Har. Thanks, Urine! Really!" Richie said, he smiled and lightly punched Stan.

"I think Richie would be a dog. He talks himself up and all, but he is really soft with his friends. He's still strong, but he isn't always like that." Mike said.

"Bev would be a fox." Richie said, pointing to her hair.

"Her hair is red, and she-"

"She's clever, she is smart, too." Ben said, cutting off Richie.

"How much do you guys think of this?" Eddie asks while laughing, finding it quite odd. He yawned and Richie looked at him. The others started to get into a heated debate about who was most like what animal.

"You tired, Eds?" Richie asked quietly.

"Only a little bit, is it time to go?" Eddie asked, Richie shrugged.

"Only if you wanna go. It's getting late anyways, huh?" Richie asked playfully and looked up. Eddie followed his actions. He hadn't realized that the sky had quickly faded to a cool blue. He sighs and nodded, leaning his head on Richies shoulder.

"I'm so glad Wednesday is the last day." Eddie breathed out. Richie nodded.

"Yeah, I kind of wish it were last friday. It woulda' been if it weren't for those snow days." Richie spoke mindlessly. He stood up, reaching his hand out to Eddie. Eddie took it quickly, standing up.

"Eds and I are gonna dip. See you losers later." Richie said, still holding Eddie's hand.

"Bye, guys!" Eddie called out, walking with Richie. Stans eyes lingered on their hands. He felt a pang of jealousy. Richie grabbed his bike, holding the handlebar with one hand, the bike slightly wobbling under his grip, but he was more worried about holding Eddie's hand. Richie wasn't aware of Stan. Stan and Richie used to be best friends, Stan wasn't sure what changed, he and Richie used to go on trips together with his family, Richie even came to his Bar Mitzvah. Stan told him everything, he told him about his feelings which were big for Stan, he didn't like to elaborate on anything sensitive with the others.

He still remembers when he told Richie what was probably his biggest secret. It was last summer, the two sat in Stan's room. Stan sat on the floor with his back against his bed. Richie was sitting on the window sill, one leg was hanging off on the inside of Stan's room, the other propped up on the wide sill. The calm air flew in gently from the open window, causing the once-stuffy room to be chilled to an appropriate temperature. Richie was smoking a cigarette, watching as cars dashed under the soft yellow streetlights. The soft sound of quiet melodies could be heard from the crickets, coating the silence easily. Richie felt tears prick his eyes as he started breathing quicker.

"My father is missing, Stan." Richie said, his voice was brittle and weak, it was scary for Stan to see him like this.

"I don't know what to do, Stan, I don't know what to do. He wouldn't leave us, Stan, he loves us! Where the fuck is he?! What if It got him? Goddamnit Stan! What if It's back!" Richie cried angrily, taking a shaky inhale from his cigarette, hot tears trickling down his cheeks.

Stan could remember biting his nails nervously as he tried to admit his thoughts. He sighed shakily, finally speaking up.

"I think I might like boys." Stan admitted finally, his voice brittle. Richie's eyes narrowed at Stan as he flicked ash off of his cigarette, crushing it on the window sill and flicking it.

"You what?" He asked, his eyes glossy and sleepless. Richie looked dead. Emotionless, almost. Stanley stood up shakily.

"I said I think I might like boys." Stan repeated, his voice trembled but it was firm. Richie opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"Stan..." Richie muttered finally, looking at his hands pitily.

"I like girls, I had that crush on Patty, but I also have had a crush on Eddie and I don't know what to do. I'm not gay, because I like girls, too!" Stan explained recklessly. Richie nodded.

"Alright." Richie responded flatly.

"Just alright?" Stan asked, baffled.

"Not sure what to say. I tell you my fucking dad is missing and you go on about how you're afraid you're in love with my best friend. Eddie... Why Eddie?" Richie deadpanned, the last sentence came out brittle, Richies voice breaking. He sighed angrily, hopping off of the window sill. He grabs his bag as Stanley watches, feeling like the walls were caving in. Richie shook his head at Stan, standing at his door.

"Mom wants me home tonight, I gotta go." Richie explained with a glare. Stan just nodded, knowing that he fucked up, he fucked up bad.

Stan got up, shaking his thoughts from his head, running to Eddie. He stopped in front of him. His mouth opened but he couldn't really get any words out, he felt like he did on that night.

"Hey, Eddie! So.. Can you come over tomorrow? I wanna talk to you about something important." Stan stammered hesitantly, his confidence draining into the dirt as Richie glares at him not-so-subtlety. He flipped Richie off with a frown. Richie sighed.

"Up yours, Urine!" Richie replied boredly. Eddie beamed at Stan, causing him to immediately brighten up, gaining back that confidence. Stanley adjusted the little kippah on his head, Eddie laughed, wondering how he manages to actually keep it on his head. Eddie smiled at Stanley, letting go of Richie who sighed under his breath. He wondered if Eddie would ever look at him like that.

Eddie assumed that because Bev would platonically kiss the losers, that he could too. He walked over to Stan, reaching up, and kissing his cheek. Richie could feel his grip on his bikes handle-bars tighten enough to make his knuckles white. Richies eyebrows knitted together as he watched the scene unravel in front of him, the air suddenly seemed colder as it nipped at his figure. He pressed his lips together, shoulders slumping ever so slightly. He glanced at the two before turning around and starting to walk, meanwhile Stan had a weak smile on his face which was now fading into a shade of pink. Eddie came down from the tips of his toes and walked back to Richie, picking up his bike which had been against a nearby tree.

"Bye, Stan!" Eddie called as Richie started walking faster. He caught up to Richie, grabbing his hand, holding his bike handle.

"Richie!" Eddie called, holding onto his hand, still confused as to why Richie was walking so quick. He turned around slowly, his eyes seemed duller than before, but his face was hard. He opened his mouth to speak, his features softened at Eddie's confused look.

"What?" He asked quietly, turning back and walking, Eddie now by his side. Eddie sighed, walking his bike like Richie did.

"What's wrong? Bev always kisses you guys on the cheek? Is it gay? I didn't think it was gay but maybe it was? Maybe only Bev can do that?" Eddie asked, quickly snowballing into panicked questions. Richie stops dead in his tracks and faces Eddie. He carefully wraps his arms around him, holding him as he also tries to hold up his bike on his leg. Eddie stopped quickly, his bike falling. He hugged him back hesitantly.

"Please stop worrying. You're too cute to worry." Richie said the last sentence with a horrible 50's husband accent, causing Eddie to laugh lightly. Richie sighed sadly, pulling away from the doe-eyed boy. He took a leap of faith and looked Eddie in the eyes. He leaned down, careful and hesitant. Richie kissed Eddie's cheek, quickly turning away out of fear of rejection from the other boy. Eddie smiled.

"Thank you.." Eddie mumbled, keeping his pace beside Richie. The two finally arrived back at the Tozier residence, silence dividing them. Tension could be found in the silence, Richie didn't shut the hell up like he was supposed to in those situations and Eddie asked too many questions. The pair blamed themselves for the uncomfortable lack of communication between them.

"You're staying again tonight, right?" Richie asked hopefully, he tried to act nonchalant and didn't even graze success. Eddie looked at him.

"You still want me to stay?" He asked quietly. Richie beamed at him.

"'Course, Eds! We need a cutie like you around to brighten up the place!" Richie states with an enthusiastic mob boss accent, Eddie laughed at him.

"Shut up, Richie." He said playfully. Richie was glad he didn't mean it this time.

When they went inside after putting away their bikes, they were met with a sleeping Maggie on the couch, not a bottle in sight. Her hair was still up neatly, she looked like she had meant to lay down for just a moment, but found herself so exhausted on the corduroy couch, that she fell asleep right there. Richie weakly smiled, glad she wasn't passed out from a bottle. Maggie used to drink. Not much, maybe a glass or two nightly with Wentworth. They loved each other so dearly, they were rarely found apart other than their jobs. Maggie started drinking heavily when Wentworth was first reported missing. She'd come to the search parties, slurring her words and stumbling with each and every step. She wasn't an abusive drunk, she wasn't the type of person to hurt their child. Neither of them were. Richie tried coaxing her off of drinking, telling her to replace it with something like drawing or knitting. She laughed at him. Richie didn't wanna lose another parent, he explained that to her. He supposed that was enough, she started drinking less, it took longer than he intended, but he was just glad his mother was better. He didn't want to lose what he had left.

Richie carefully covered his sleeping mother with a blanket, knowing how Joanne could be such a bore. He understood her exhaustion, mentally comparing Joanne with Stan. Eddie looked at him, pity laced in his features.

"She's not drunk, she's just tired. Joanne, the friend she was with, is boring, she does NOT know boundaries but Mom's too nice to tell her to get fucked so she deals with her. Plus, Joanne gives the best hea- pie, she gives the best pie!" Richie explained fruitily. Eddie immediately brightened up, laughing at how Richie explained his mother's friend.

"Gross, Chee." Eddie called as Richie proceeded to walk to the kitchen.

"Whatever do you mean?" Richie asked, a false tone of cluelessness masking his voice.

"Do you want to head to the store?" Eddie asked, watching the other boy unsuccessfully search for something to eat.

"Sure, let me just ask to borrow a few dollars, I only have twenty dollars right now, maybe she'll give me ten." Richie stated, not really paying much attention to his words. He walked over to the living room, leaving Eddie in the kitchen. He pulls the paddle ball out of his fanny pack, looking over the wood which was thin. He holds the ball in place and pulls back the paddle, letting go of the ball and hitting the small wooden paddle against the ball quickly, watching as the bubblegum pink ball hits the paddle.

Richie sauntered into the kitchen, holding a twenty dollar bill between his pointer and middle finger.

"Got the cash, Eddie my love!" Richie exclaimed in a sing-song voice, making sure to drag out the 'o' in 'love'. Eddie smiled at Richie and put his paddle ball in his fanny pack and hopped off of the counter.

"Which store are we headed to?" Eddie asks curiously, walking behind Richie

"Uh, ShopRite?" He responded, understanding afterwards that it was more of a question than an answer. Eddie hummed in response, following him out of his house. Richie closes the dark oakwood door behind them, a quiet thud overlapping the calm silence between the pair. Eddie grabs his bike, waiting for his friend to lead. Eddie lived nearby and he knew the way to the store but he felt more comfortable with Richie leading. Eddie sighed, looking at the sky quietly. He realized that it was getting late. He looked behind him impatiently.

"Hurry the fuck up, Richie!" He called at Richie who was putting on his backpack while on his bike. It worked in his favor somehow, and he was off, speeding in front of Eddie and flipping him off. Eddie laughed and somewhat pouted at Richie, whenever Eddie would try to glare and present himself as angry, he would honestly just pout.

Eventually, the pair made it to ShopRite. By the time they arrived, the sky was a sleepy shade of prussian blue. The ghostly fluorescent light in the entrance flickered ever so slightly. The parking lot was oddly empty for the time of day. Eddie grabbed a cart after the two locked up their bikes, walking into the store with an excited Richie behind him. Eddie was quickly moved away from the cart by Richie, who, of course, wanted to push the cart instead. He started running down the soup aisle with the cart. Eddie followed, holding back his laughter.

"You're gonna get us kicked out, Chee!" Eddie whisper-yelled to the clumsy ass that is his best friend. Richie just laughed in response. Eddie stopped at the Cup Noodles, looking at them with pure admiration. Richie snickered at him, pulling out his somewhat small Polaroid Instant Film camera. Eddie started grabbing a large amount of Cup Noodles off of the shelf, causing him to laugh.

"Hey, Eds!" Richie called. Eddie glared at him, pouting. Richie took the photo, smiling as if he was getting his picture taken.

"Richie, NO, WHAT THE FUCK I-" Eddie was cut off by his own laughter as he dropped the Cup Noodles into the shopping cart. Richie held the film face-down, waving it.

"Ya know shaking the film doesn't do shit."

"What?" Richie asked, knowing that wasn't Eddie's voice. Eddie looked up just to see that Connor kid, Bowers cousin, swirling a lollipop around his mouth. Richie glanced at him, getting quiet. Richie never gets quiet, what the fuck? Is he that special? Fuck you. Eddie thought to himself angrily. Connor looked Richie up and down, a sly smile on his stupid face.

"Shaking the photo doesn't make it develop faster, Tozier." Connor said, looking at Eddie.

"Oh, so THIS is your boyfriend?" Connor asked, pointing his lollipop at him.

"Fuck off, no I'm not. Stop trying to include me in your fantasy, bitch." Eddie said quickly, grabbing his inhaler from his fanny pack and puffing it in his mouth, Richie looked at Eddie.

"He's feisty, huh?" Connor added with a laugh. Richie sighed.

"I've met cereal funnier than you. Can you fuck off? I'm not bothering you, I'm in a fucking grocery store buying shit." Richie said, clearly annoyed. Connor winked at him, pulling an arcade coin out of his pocket and putting it in Richies hand, slowly.

"Meet me when your boyfriend's not following you around like a lap dog." Connor started walking away, Richie looked down at the coin, his blood boiling.

"Don't- Don't fucking call him that." Richie demanded lowly, Eddie looked at him, wide-eyed

"He seemed so much nicer at the arcade, before Bowers came in." Richie told Eddie who was glaring at Connor as he walked away. Richie dropped the coin like it was nothing, walking in the opposite direction of Connor, arm around Eddie's neck.

The boys got what they wanted and left, the air between them was tense and awkward. Richies backpack was filled with Cup Noodles and various snacks, more of Eds' pudding cups, Richie's chocolate pudding cups, and Cosmic brownies. Neither of them had said a word since Richie last spoke.

The ride home was bleak, the streetlights didn't feel so much like temporary golden cloaks anymore, more like knowing shameful stares. Each passing light reflected off of Richies glasses as he stood on his bike, inner conflict battling in his brain. Eddie was slightly ahead, practically on the other side of the road. Richie sighed, looking over at him and frowning. Eddie was mad, Richie could tell. He was distancing himself from Richie, he hasn't even looked in his direction at all. Richie found himself trying to figure out why. He thought about what he said. The thought of Eddie being jealous of Connor danced across his mind gracefully. He tried to shake the mere thought that Eddie would ever be jealous of Connor for being around Richie. Eddie didn't seem to have feelings for Richie. Not the way Richie had feelings for Eddie. Richie knew he was head over heels for his hypochondriac best friend.

"Richie, Where the fuck are you going, dude?" Eddie called. Richie looked up, realizing that he didn't turn into his driveway, his thoughts clouding over. He nodded, turning around on his bike somewhat successfully and driving into his driveway, getting off of his bike and adjusting it so it was resting gently against the side of the house.

"Sorry." Richie mumbled apologetically. No punchline. Eddie's shoulders slumped weakly as he watched Richie walk past him and to his door. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Richie with a concerned expression. Richie was still, unlocking the door and walking into his house. Eddie was expecting some sort of joke to leave his mouth, closing the door behind him as he walked in hesitantly. Eddie felt an overwhelming sadness, he didn't exactly know why. He knew being gay was bad, he knew because he knows that his mother didn't like them. Whenever they were on TV screens or whenever they were in the paper, his mother would use it as an excuse as to why you shouldn't be like them.

"You see him, Eddie-bear? See how he ended up dead? That'll be you if you go parading around with some boy!" She would tell him, holding up the article to his face while sat on her corduroy recliner, the TV blaring in the background.

"Yes, Mommy." He'd respond, scared. As if he were gay. He isn't gay, Sonia said he couldn't be. She did this when Richie was over, told Eddie 'No' to being gay. Richie wasn't having any of it, annoyed with her idiocy

"Ah yes, a stern no will knock the sexuality right outta ya!" Richie said in a traditional doctor voice, more of a mob boss from the 40's. Richie wasn't allowed over for two months. This is how Eddie knew being gay was bad. He couldn't help but feel sad, he knew very well of Connors intentions. They weren't so innocent, now, and Eddie hated it. He couldn't quite explain why. Something about Richie's skin even grazing Connors made Eddie upset. The events of before played in Eddie's head repeatedly, like a broken record.

-

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡.


	5. 𝐕𝐈.

𝐯𝐨𝐝𝐤𝐚 & 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Richie sat on his bed in his room. The air was cool from the air flowing through the open window, the warm scent of vanilla lingered from a candle, burned to the bottom of the wick. Recently, Richie had picked up on playing the guitar soon after the summer of 89'. It gave him something to focus on other than the memory of that clown, other than the memory of Eddie's fear-filled face as he made him face him, believing they were both going to die. He didn't want the last thing that Eddie saw to be that stupid clown. Something to distract himself from the trauma. He slowly started strumming his electric guitar, humming along to random melodies he played. He wasn't sure what got over him, but he felt bold, proud. He loves Eddie. He fucking loves Eddie. He'll tell anyone who listens, he'll shout it out. He'll tell Eddie, wrap his arms around him, kiss him on the head and confess.

"Richie Tozier, ladies and gentlemen!" Richie heard from his window, looking up to see none other than Beverly Marsh.

"Ah, Ms, Ringwald! What brings you here, lass?" Richie greeted with a horrid 20s businessman accent.

"Decided we needed a night to talk, Tozier!" She replied, a smile dancing across her face.

"We're going to 7-Eleven, we haven't gone in a while. On me. Plus, Richie, we need to talk." She added on, her tone becoming serious. The first night Bev got back, Richie took her to 7-Eleven and they got snacks before going to the park. It became a tradition after that, they'd go all the time. Richie held a hand to his heart, acting as if it had been struck.

"Ms. Marsh, are you... Breaking up with me?" He asked, dramatically flopping onto his bed. She raised her middle finger at him, kicking him.

"Ow!"

"Come on, Dipshit!" She urged, Richie beaming up at her. She brushed the strawberry locks away from her face, turning to leave through the window and down the decorative ladder-like side panel.

"Wait up, Ringwald!"

-

The two walked together, making their way to the little 7-Eleven which had been two blocks away.

"What're you planning on getting there, Tozier?" She asked, nudging him with her arm.

"A slushie and gummies?" He asked, looking slightly down at her for approval. Her soft rose colored lips curled into a soft smile on her pale face.

"You're okay, Rich. You aren't spending too much, okay?" Bev reassured him softly. He nodded, pushing up his bulky glasses. Richie beamed at her, speeding up to reach the door as they approached the store.

"After you, M'lady!" He announced, opening the door widely, his arm out to welcome her into the store.

"Oh, why thank you, kind sir!" She responded, playing along, the same smile dancing on her face. She walked in, her combat boots clicking as they hit the ground. She walked down the aisle, her soft blue eyes grazing the snacks. A warm smile rested on her face when she found the cherry gummies. Richie's favorite, along with gummy worms. She grabbed a bag of each, heading to the back of the store where Richie and the slushies were.

"I skimmed the store, no one but the clerk is here if-" Richie started, getting cut off by Beverly.

"I'll pay, you grab." She grinned, grabbing the two slushies and the gummies. She made her way to the front, making conversation with the store clerk.

"Yeah, I heard you guys had the best slushies, and-" She set her stuff on the counter, purposefully knocking over the very full box of singular chocolates.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry! God, I am such a Ditz sometimes.." She says, sighing. The Clerk starts picking up the chocolates, meanwhile Richie is running out of the store with a bottle of vodka very shittily hidden by his jacket.

"That's okay, it was only an accident." The clerk replied. She smiled and put down a ten dollar bill.

"Keep the change!" Beverly called on her way out, drinks in hand, gummies somehow also in hand. She put her old, brown messenger bag down on the ground once she had met up with Richie.

"Hell yeah, Ringwald!" Richie whisper-shouted, congratulating her.

"And to you too, Trashmouth!" She saluted jokingly. The two started filling up the other half of their slushies with the vodka, putting the bottle in her bag once they couldn't fit more into the cups.

"Oh the places we'll go!" Richie shouted, holding his drink in the air. Bev giggled, smacking his arm.

"Shut it, Trashmouth! We're going to the park up the street, the one that's just swings and one sad slide. It's kind of closed in so, who will really see us?" She explained, marching along, an arm around Richie, just as she had an arm around her.

"Rich?" Beverly called to the boy on the swing next to her, who was sipping his cherry slushie.

"Yes, Ms. Marsh?" He responded, now looking at her.

"Why did it bug you when Stan was concerned about Eddie? All of the losers were." She asked, her usual chill facade fading away, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Eddie Spaghetti... Hmm.." Richie hummed, a serene smile on his face.

"I love Eddie.. I love him so much." He announced quietly, still smiling. His smile faltered quickly.

"Stan... Stan.. Remember how I told you dad- My dad went missing?" Beverly nodded, a stern look on her face.

"Stan ignored that when I tried talking to him. He said he liked Eddie. God.. He knows how I feel about Eddie, why him? And why when my dad goes missing? Will I ever be happy? God, Bev, I just want to kiss him, I just- I... I dunno, Bev. He liked Barbara a little while ago, right? He never tells me, and I fucked it up, he- He came to me, asking if it was bad to be gay, I- I shouldve just said no. Instead, I chose to be a jackass, Bevvy. I said 'Why, Ya gay, Eds?' I mean what the Fuck Richie?" He spilled, He always seemed to spill with Bev.

"You need to talk to him. I think he'll listen, plus, Eddie won't stay alone forever. You need to take your chances, Richie. Especially with Stan, why do you think he wasn't here today? I'm just saying-" Bev spoke softly, but she was interrupted.

"Wait, you think-" Richie uttered, gagging, the amount of alcohol he drank clearly getting to him

"You think that Eddie... Oh..." Richie asked, implications on a thought he didn't want to have, his voice breaking. Beverly understood what he meant, sighing.

"Rich.. I don't know. I really think Eddie likes you, alright? Just.. Tell him. Soon." She replied, grabbing Richie's hand.

"You can't wait forever, Richie." Beverly softly told him. She knew what it was like to wait forever. She waited too long and Ben found someone new. She sighs.

"I waited too long and now Ben really likes Arabella. I came over the other day, I wanted to ask him if he wanted to go to the Diner, and Arabella answered. She looked.. Like they'd just done some stuff I'd rather not imagine." She took a long sip of her slushie, looking over at Richie. He had been clutching his drink, looking sad and tired.

"I love him, Bee, and I don't think he loves me back."

"He'd be a fool if he didn't realize it by now." He continued.

"How much I love him.." His words started to fade out as he slumped against the swing chain, groaning.

"C'mon, Rich. We're going to mine, okay? I don't think you should be alone tonight."

-

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡.


End file.
